Cornyn: Not a bad idea to get U.S. troops out of the way if Turkey planned to ‘ethnically cleanse the Kurds’  —  The Texas Republican isn't happy about the abrupt U.S. withdrawal but lauded Trump's move, even if it left Kurdish allies unprotected.  —  WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. John Cornyn lauded …

Schiff's Secret Bombshells  —  If the testimony is so damning for Trump, why not make it public?  —  By The Editorial Board  —  Bombshell.  The walls are closing in.  Donald Trump's defense has collapsed.  The quid pro quo has been proven, the case for impeachment is obvious …

Trump Education Official to Resign and Call for Mass Student-Loan Forgiveness  —  A. Wayne Johnson, appointed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, calls the student-loan system ‘fundamentally broken’  —  WASHINGTON—A senior student-loan official in the Trump administration said he would resign Thursday …

Klobuchar qualifies for November debate  —  Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) became the ninth candidate to qualify for the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate in November.  —  Klobuchar qualified after getting 3 percent support in a national poll conducted by Quinnipiac University that was released Thursday morning.

United States of America v. Rudolph W. Giuliani  —  Former U.S. Attorneys draft a “Mock Indictment” based on publicly available evidence of Giuliani's misconduct. … While the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel has issued legal opinions that a sitting president cannot be indicted …

‘Your question is insane.’ Full interview with Secretary of State Pompeo in Wichita  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday made his fourth trip to Kansas this year, this one to Wichita with Ivanka Trump.  The former Kansas congressman sat down with McClatchy's Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star …

If Republicans don't stand by Trump, they risk losing their base forever  —  The Republican Party risks exile for longer than it has endured in the modern era if, in the absence of incontrovertible evidence of actual “high crimes and misdemeanors,” it deserts President Trump during the campaign to remove him from office.

The Student Vote Is Surging.  So Are Efforts to Suppress It.  —  The share of college students casting ballots doubled from 2014 to 2018, a potential boon to Democrats.  But in Texas and elsewhere, Republicans are erecting roadblocks to the polls.  —  AUSTIN, Texas — At Austin Community College …

Rudy Giuliani is looking for a defense attorney, sources say  —  (CNN)Rudy Giuliani has been approaching defense attorneys for possible representation, according to three sources familiar with the matter.  —  The move by Giuliani, who is President Donald Trump's personal attorney …

Why ambassador charging quid pro quo can't be dismissed  —  There are numerous arguments that President Trump and his allies can make against impeachment.  —  They can say that nothing he did on Ukraine rises to the level of an impeachable offense.  —  They can argue the Democrats …

Italy Did Not Fuel U.S. Suspicion of Russian Meddling, Prime Minister Says  —  Casting holes in a Trump conspiracy theory, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte revealed details of two visits to Rome by Attorney General William P. Barr.  —  ROME — Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy …

Matt Gaetz Says Storming Impeachment Hearings was Like ‘300’  —  Congressman Matt Gaetz sure is feeling himself after leading the blitz of House Republicans into private impeachment hearings — delaying them for hours — and he's glowing about scoring brownie points with POTUS.

Pete Buttigieg on His Plans to Address Climate Change and Revamp the Supreme Court, and, Oh, Tackle Halloween  —  It's a high-stakes election with a large pool of would-be presidents, and young women might just be the deciding vote on our future  —  To help you choose—and to get the candidates to address what matters most to YOU—

Spain exhumes dictator Francisco Franco after years of bitter controversy  —  MADRID — Spain began exhuming the remains of Spanish Gen. Francisco Franco from his imposing mausoleum at the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid on Thursday, ending years of bitter controversy about how to commemorate a dark and complicated past.

Trump's War on the ‘Deep State’ Turns Against Him  —  The impeachment inquiry is in some ways the culmination of a battle between the president and the government institutions he distrusted and disparaged.  —  WASHINGTON — Nameless, faceless and voiceless, the C.I.A. officer who first triggered …

How America's far-left could help re-elect Donald Trump  —  If America's Democrats could adopt a rule on how not to lose elections, it should be to impose a gag on Hillary Clinton.  As it is, Mrs Clinton may already have tweaked the course of the 2020 presidential race.

Laura Cooper, Pentagon official overseeing Ukraine, testifies in impeachment inquiry after GOP delay  —  The House Parliamentarian ruled that the GOP members were in violation of House deposition rules, according to an Intelligence Committee official.  —  WASHINGTON — Laura Cooper …

House Democrats look to take impeachment probe public as soon as mid-November  —  House Democrats are preparing to move their largely private impeachment inquiry onto a more public stage as soon as mid-November and are already grappling with how best to present the complex Ukraine saga to the American people.

Buttigieg jumps to second in Iowa State University/Civiqs poll  —  AMES, Iowa - Mayor Pete Buttigieg is building momentum in Iowa, according to the latest Iowa State University/Civiqs poll.  Of likely caucus-goers, 20% said Buttigieg is their top choice among the field of Democratic presidential candidates.

National Archives probes Wilbur Ross' use of private email  —  The National Archives and Records Administration has launched an investigation into Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' use of private email for official business, according to a letter made public this week.

Ceremony at the Capitol for the Late Representative Elijah Cummings  —  The casket of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) arrived at the U.S. Capitol for a ceremony before lying in state.

Reports: Trump to imminently begin process of leaving Paris climate deal  —  President Trump is making life more complicated for climate change advocates and K Street alike — in ways obvious and sometimes less so.  —  Driving the news: The climate world was abuzz Wednesday at reports …

Trump's ‘Mental Impairment Means He Cannot Think Strategically or in Abstract Terms,’ Claims Professor of Psychiatry  —  A psychiatry professor claimed President Donald Trump is so mentally impaired that he cannot think in abstract terms and can only view things in a one-dimensional way.

The Secret Service Interviewed Eminem Over “Threatening Lyrics” About Trump And Ivanka.  These Docs Prove It.  —  In August 2018, Eminem announced the surprise release of his new album, Kamikaze, in a tweet, delighting his fans with 13 fiery new raps, just eight months after he dropped his last album, Revival.

Rep. Katie Hill under investigation after allegations of inappropriate relationship with congressional aide  —  Rep. Katie Hill (D-Santa Clarita) is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after allegations that she engaged in an affair with a congressional aide were made public last week.

The Post-Trump GOP  —  The optimistic case for a Trumpism-free conservatism and Republican party.  —  It is frequently said that Donald Trump has forever changed the Republican party and American conservatism.  His most severe critics and his most passionate supporters tend to agree …

Government Loophole Gave Oil Companies an $18 Billion Windfall  —  The United States government has lost billions of dollars of oil and gas revenue to fossil-fuel companies because of a loophole in a decades-old law, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday, offering the first detailed accounting …

Trump's presidency is built on lies.  Does he actually believe them?  —  The president's efforts in Ukraine break Watergate's record for presidential stupidity.  What was the point?  —  A puffed-up Donald Trump on Wednesday peddled his latest Syrian retreat as if his ability …

MLB looking into longtime umpire Rob Drake's tweet  —  Longtime major league umpire Rob Drake tweeted that he planned to buy an assault rifle “because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!!  #MAGA2020”, according to a copy of the tweet obtained by ESPN.